Thursday, 28 September 2017

One of the most useless disciplines within the arbiter of Liberal Arts is the study of sociology. This is declared by one who majored in that discipline, and as one of that group, graduated in 1969, with a BA degree in Sociology and associated Latin American Studies. The various minors were clustered in political science, history, archeology, anthropology, and a sub-minor in underwater basket-weaving.

It is true, however and it must be said, that there were in my day, two different poles in the sub-set of the discipline of Economics (also a false science). One was Marxist which was very popular during my stay on campus, and the other was Weberian (pronounced 'veh - behr - e - yahn').

The Weberian analysis of society and social organisation, and social order was that it was full enough of life-change during the trek: birth, adolescence, adulthood, professional and trade life, motherhood, old age, and Death. He said that the societies who were disciplined celebrated all these acts and ceremonies. This was done according to their religions, denominations within those religions, tribal customs, etc.

It was Max Weber who determined that there was no "class-warfare". His understanding was that there was a division of the classes based upon the perceived notions of Class.....Status....and Power. Interweaving all of this with the idea of life-change of each individual (he or she who actually composed 'societe') means that there are infinite realities concerning the organisation of human society.....AND culture....than can be processed by the most powerful computers to-day. Max Weber was no Fascist who believed in ''tradicionalismo uber alles" (pardon the combination of fascism and national socialism). He was influenced by Marx in various ways, and other writers and thinkers. BUT.....he parted with the convenient cant and lofty prayer of the "Progressives" by establishing that tradition and social comfort....a warm copa de vino....a comfort of uncles....a lamentation of the death of a cousin....the pain of a wife.....were all more powerful than any "Movement". (Upon this, believeth El Gringo Viejo) Max Weber ( pronounced Veh - behr) was my refuge during the studies of Sociology back in the dark ages of the 1960s. Even now, he is rarely mentioned, although there are many Che Guevara T-shirts on campus, along with memorials for Mendacious Frida Kahlo and Mendacious Rigoberta Menchu'. For the one who found and told the truth, there are no T-shirts, nor accolades.There shall be more, a bit later. Thank you for your time and patience.El Gringo Viejo!!!

We are a lost nation and a bankrupt culture. The summit has been crossed and from this point on, our Nation's future will be seen from the point of view of steadily descending into a desert, such as the Mojave. Social prescription and restriction, already the rule, will become Commandments. We will gradually become Europe.....grey....dull....knowing too much to be religious....understanding nothing except the next empty pleasure. Perhaps a good "Burning Man" festival might cure things.....(?)....

We are certain of our faith in Government. We have steadily lost our faith in the Giver of Life and invested our trust in government sponsored benefits instead. We have become, essentially, Voltaire-light. The Proles who might be willing to break out the guillotines and "citizens' tribunals" are exercising at work-out gyms....ever mindful lest the Scarlet Pimpernel's jumping through some open window can interrupt the purification of French blood line.. The artefacts of our history.....the great monuments of the victors and the defeated....the flags, banners, and images are left to be ignored or defaced or removed. Few understand any of it anyway. Most university graduates cannot tell a questioner if the War of 1812 came before or after the War Between the States. The same cohort of responders can not discern which side was fighting whom. There was a test devised fairly recently that asked the responder to match two simple pairs. Confederate, Yankee, Rebel, Union: please combine so that the pairs are compatible. If the responders were all total dolts, the laws of statistical probability suggested that at least one-half would hit the head on the nail. But, no! Some 39 per cent managed to pair up Union / Yankee and Confederate / Rebel. The coinage and currency of America will soon change the motto, "In God We Trust" for "Gimme, gimme" and "Who cares?" Of course, our money soon will be worth less than nothing anyway.

______________________

THE ISSUE of "REPEAL and REPLACE" :

El Gringo Viejo don' wan' no stinkin' repeal and replace. You understan', Sr. Presidente de los Gringos!!! You are goin' to repeal, y ya! Me entiendes, Mendez? The matter at hand is simply to repeal the dysfunctional Obamaham-Care Free Medical Programme, also known as the Obama Socialised Medicine Initiative (OSMI). The central government in Washington D.C. has no authority or justification to provide medical services. It should be enough to point out that the best the central government can do is a fairly good, but frequently disastrous, Veterans' Administration operation. Were the programme OSMI to collapse to-morrow, there would be rapid measures taken by the insurance companies and private mutuals (Medishare , for instance) to fill the vacuum and submit to State by State insurance commission rules and the rules of the free market. Costs would plummet, and oddly enough doctors and nurses and medical workers could possibly make more profit and salary because there would no longer be any need to go through a labyrinth of regulations, fees, and penalties. It would help normal people by allowing them to avoid paying for that guy's reverse-re-transgender-inverted-duplicate-elective-sexual assignment-abortion-ready and psychological adjustment counselling package. Social engineering is the greatest evil facing the Republic's culture. Deficit spending is the greatest evil facing the Republic's economy. You cannot say "girl". You cannot say "Black" , "person of Black African Ancestry", "Negro", "Coloured", ''Coloured Person", "uncle" or "aunt" as a caucasian person about any person of Black African Ancestry, no matter how close the "girl" or "boy" is to the honkey family. "Uncle Remus" or "Aunt Jemima" , you see, are "racist terms" that underscore the overbearing hubris of "White Privilege". Pinkoes and intellectuals on the left also figured out that the word "Mexican" is a dirty word, because Mexicans are dirty....and dark....and evil looking...like in the Movies, where the real world lives. So, in order to isolate "them" and make "them" a victim group, the leftist bone-throwers decided to delete "Mexican" and replaced that horrid word with "Hispanic"....which means almost "next-to-nothing". "Hispanic" as it is applied during the present times can include people who have totally Black African ancestry, or totally caucasian (white) Iberian ancestry. Therefore, it is a meaningless ethnic identifier. The leftists brought us this nominal assignment, because of their own bias against Mexicans. But, allow me to advise the Ivy League and the snootsies of the East and Left Coast. Mexican is a word that identifies nationality....not ethnicity or racial identification. There is no such thing as an Hispanic Race or a Mexican Race. We have said this many, many times on this blog. If someone says, "All Mexicans are......", STOP LISTENING. All Mexicans have brown eyes....except for the ones who have green, blue, grey, or yellow eyes. All Mexicans are Catholics, except for the ones who are atheist, Protestant, Masons, Jews, etc.....

___________________

El Gringo Viejo is surrounded with family members from my wife's side who are totally accomplished.....a concuna (in this case the wife of my brother-in-law), who works in an environment that dictates that, concerning some operations, nothing begins without her presence. Her husband, my brother-in-law (cun~ado), served in the Constabulary for many years in Bexar County of Texas. He also served in the adjunct area of the Viet Nam War, Taiwan, attending to aircraft of war....and exposed for the duration of his service to the continuing menace of saboteurs who were frequent and effective. While simply Honourably Discharged, your humble servant is quick to point out that he had great uncles who served against the Spanish and later against the Huk Filipino nutters after the Spanish American War. All OROGs know that El Gringo Viejo has a father who was in the Horse Cavalry and various blood members on both sides of the War Between the States. We are very dedicated to reverencing the sacrifices of those who served in the manner that they understood to the obligatory and noble. The applies to enemy and friend, provided that they served under honourable conditions. My grandfather's brothers, my father, father-in-law, brother-in-law, son, those of the period of the War Between the States (both sides), and my wife's people who apparently had actives on both sides of the Alamo in 1836 are all in this panoply of Texana and family history. We retire from this issue for a bit. To-morrow, perhaps we shall return, the Lord willing.El Gringo Viejo......We lament the profound impact of the loss of El Zorro's son and we seem to have a problem overcoming the grief thereof. Not becoming of an Old Confederate, but sincere. One can only imagine and lament......it has affected me very profoundly.

Monday, 25 September 2017

Below we have submitted the general text of a private transmission between your humble servant and the father-in-law of his daughter. I am the father-in-law of his son, ergo the Spanish word "consuegro" which means something like "interrelated fathers-in-law".

________________________

Consuegro,

I was also in Mexico 32 years ago. I was there a week after the "big one" this was a planned trip, tried to postpone it but was told that "business was business" and to come any way. The companies ( NEOSA and VYSSSA) had a large factory compound close to Mexico City. For 2 days I stayed in a small, rough hotel close to the factory.

As a reminder from yesterday...this is the TorreLatinoamericano - Pride of Mexico

The compound was surrounded by a high wall, with garden gates. They had openned the yard and a warehouse to house some of the employees and their families. The first day, with the owner and 2 sons, I helped moving cots, serving food, and general office clean-up.

Jorge (a very powerful industrial magnate in the North American over-all oil / natural gas industry) told me that he was not much of an humanitarian but, by watching over his people he was building locality, the workers saw the owners working, hard, to help them. (many Mexican wealthy pooh-pooh their eleemosynary activities so as to avoid attracting flies instead of bees, and to keep their profile low, in order to protect favoured workers and family members)

The third day we took a truck to his office in Salamanca, picked up a car, and then went to the Pemex Refinery. The "story" he told one-and-all" was: .....his company had me come to check my products to be sure that they were still working correctly. They were ! That refinery became one of his biggest customers. ( I was, on several occasions, the "token Gringo", playing a role and showing that his company could preform.​) (.....a further parenthetical: There is a old notion among both Mexicans and foreigners that nothing....nothing....in Mexico is any good until it has been approbated by a foreigner....especially an American, Englishman, or Japanese)

A small portion of the Minatitlan - Coatzacoalcos PetroleumComplex. It is one of six complexes in Mexico. This one isequivalent to the entire production of Nigeria, Venezuela(now), and 160 others countries on Planet Earth.

From Salamanca we drove to Mexico City, flew to Minatitlan, then returned to Mexico City and Houston (home). Sometimes you can be a small part of history, sometimes you can just read about it. I would prefer to be known as having been part of it. (here, El Gringo Viejo vigorously intercedes, because what my consuegro says so lightly is actually a gruelling political - social - industrial - engineering - and physical health challenge. He was moving, and still does, through the most advanced super-rich, the most advanced blue-collar, the most antique and advanced technology, the most complicated social interaction protocol one can imagine. For instance, in terms of physical health, we are not referring to silly, giggly things like Montezuma's Revenge. My Consuegro's problem was that he was always surrounded by massive outlays of the finest Mexican, American, and International cuisine and the finest wines, brandies, and beer in existence......and failure to indulge and sample and enjoy is considered an insult. Any absent word on the work site could set back negotiations and contract compliance strength by months....or years. Still, at his age, Gringo operators and Mexican magnates still ask for him to do "....just one more little favour".....He does not complain, and he refuses to be "tired". He is a true beacon of the positive in terms of the Human Condition.)

My health is ----ok, I continue to improve and thats a good thing. Still have some limitations.

Politics. Still, I feel , we've lost and see no real end.

Was baby sitting, Evelyn came in to kiss me good night. She looked at the TV and said "Pa-Pa they're speaking Spanish. Why?" I told her that the show was a soap opera and it was a good way for me to remember Spanish. She said " that's a good idea." (That is the nature of a good Consuegro)

GOOD NIGHT

_____________________

It should suffice to say that everything in blue print is the compulsive testimony and commentary from the pen of El Gringo Viejo. That which is in the standard colour above is from his Consuegro. It should also be noted that this man has no grand degrees from stellar universities, but graduates from such places, such as MIT and Stanford have had to ask for his guidance with some frequency.

And oddly....although we were frequently in the same places and almost equally frequently at the same time, doing that which we both did best, we never ran across one another in Mexico.

Sunday, 24 September 2017

We had thought that we could be back in communication earlier, but it seems that I am confounded at every turn. We were hoping to be able to pick up more confinable information about San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato....which finally, we have. But, your communique' from the day before yesterday about being involved, as was I, with the activities surrounding the really big pair of earthquakes of 1985. You recall probably that there were two massive quakes, one during the early morning (for Chilangos) of the first day, and then another about 26 hours later of only slightly lesser magnitude. I remember clearly that the first estimates of intensity were almost all in the area of 9.1 or a little higher. Over the years, for some reason, that measurement seems to have diminished to more "reasonable" impossible levels, such as 8.2 - 8.5 or thereabouts. It was pretty well agreed that the second temblor was slightly less intense than the first.

My arrival was on the train, in the morning of the day after the first shock. Unbeknownst to those of us travelling on the train from Monterrey, the second event occurred about an hour before our arrival. The train, EL REGIOMONTANO, normally arrived about 30 to 40 minutes late, but on this day, we went in about 90 to 100 minutes late. Frankly, I was surprised that we were that timely. I transferred over to the Hotel Emporio area, looking for any sign of the condition of that hotel on the Paseo de la Reforma. That is when I managed to begin my search for the brother of the Bellman at the Hotel Ancira in Monterrey, who had given me a considerable amount of money to deliver to his brother, if possible. It still astounds me that the first person I asked about being able to find Sr. So-an-So, just happened to be Sr. So-and-So. I had to ask him if he could give me (a) the name of his brother in Monterrey and (b) his own telephone number and place of employment. (It is best to include here that the Mexico City brother was adopted into the family and therefore had no resemblance to his Monterrey brother. The Monterrey brother had told me about that)

I delivered the money to the Hotel Emporio bellman - brother, and on my return to Monterrey later had to refuse a gratuity from the Monterrey brother for complying with my duty. After walking away from the Hotel Emporio about four blocks I finally grabbed a cab to the Hotel Alameda where I had my reservations. While paying the taxi-driver, the first taxi-driver honked from his place at the stop light in the mix of traffic, and I recognised him and waved. The light changed and he came over, with a fare in the back, and said "If you need anything, just call this number and ask for "Roberto"....I told him that I was going to change and shower and find a bite to eat, and then it would be nice if he could stop at this same place at 15:00 hours, en punto, and give me a drive around the centre of the city. He assured me he would be at the front door waiting.

All those things transpired, and incredibly enough, at 15:00 hours, I presented myself at the front of the Hotel Aristos, briefcase in hand, and armed with a camera, of all things. My driver arrived with almost exact precision. I told him that it would be appreciated if we could go where crews were digging out and trying to locate survivors and casualties, and to the Nuevo Leon Condo federal housing project....where there were four very high, ugly, stylistic public housing / apartment buildings. I think they were about 30 stories each. One collapsed totally, with an estimated 2,000 people killed inside. The others remained standing, with only minor, superficial damage.

Even after driving around for about three hours, stopping here and there to take pictures, and bear witness.....even helping to carry concrete blocks in the "block brigade" volunteer groups several times....it began to dawn on me that, in reality, 97% of the very centre of Mexico City, the worst hit part of the metropolis, was still intact. Much was still functioning....water, electricity, even traffic lights and such. As we made our way back to the Hotel Alameda, for instance, we came to a stop at the base of the Torre LatinoAmerica, the Empire State Building of Mexico so to speak. It is about 44 stories of steel and glass, with another 600 feet of antennas and lighting on top, and since the mid-1950s until fairly recently, was the tallest building in Mexico and Latin America. It has survived with essentially no damage, four very major earthquakes.

While stopped, and waiting for a traffic light to change, I noticed a manila folder that had been Scotch-taped to the inside of a ground-floor heavy glass wall-window. On the manila folder had been written "ANTES" (before). The window had a small amount of damage, apparently from an errant automobile that had jumped the curb somehow and struck a glancing blow at the very thick glass. My driver confirmed this, stating that it had been a collision between a motorcyclist and a "pesero" (jitney cab) three days before. I thought it to be a noble thing that the staff of one of the tenants of the illustrious building felt moved to protect the honour of the "Old Girl".

MY LAMENT:

The problem with all of this is that upon return to Texas, I needed to talk to some folks who ran a nice little weekly newspaper a few miles from McAllen. When I showed them the pictures of my "adventure in the ruins" of Mexico City, they asked me to write up an article about my observations and experiences. I complied, and was awarded a few copies to take to family and friends. The only thing wrong with all of that is I cannot find any copies here. It is a real shame that I did not take better care of the copy. Perhaps it will turn up some day....

Saturday, 23 September 2017

Why haven’t we heard more about them? National Park Service historian, Ed Bearrs, stated, “I don’t want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, but it was definitely a tendency, which began around 1910.” Historian, Erwin L. Jordan, Jr., calls it a “cover-up” which started back in 1865. He writes, “During my research, I came across instances where Black men stated they were soldiers, but you can plainly see where ‘soldier’ is crossed out and ‘body servant’ inserted, or ‘teamster’ on pension applications.” Another black historian, Roland Young, says he is not surprised that blacks fought. He explains that “…some, if not most, Black southerners would support their country” and that by doing so they were “demonstrating it’s possible to hate the system of slavery and love one’s country.” This is the very same reaction that most African Americans showed during the American Revolution, where they fought for the colonies, even though the British offered them freedom if they fought for them.

It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, “saw the elephant” also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war. But in the ranks it was a different story. Many Confederate officers did not obey the mandates of politicians, they frequently enlisted blacks with the simple criteria; “Will you fight?” Historian Ervin Jordan, explains that “biracial units” were frequently organized “by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids…”. Dr. Leonard Haynes, an African-American professor at Southern University, stated, “When you eliminate the black Confederate soldier, you’ve eliminated the history of the South.”

The “Richmond Howitzers” were partially manned by black militiamen. They saw action at 1st Manassas (or 1st Battle of Bull Run) where they operated battery no. 2. In addition two black “regiments”, one free and one slave, participated in the battle on behalf of the South. “Many colored people were killed in the action”, recorded John Parker, a former slave.

At least one Black Confederate was a non-commissioned officer. James Washington, Co. D 34th Texas Cavalry, “Terrell’s Texas Cavalry” became it’s 3rd Sergeant. In comparison, The highest-ranking Black Union soldier during the war was a Sergeant Major.

Free black musicians, cooks, soldiers and teamsters earned the same pay as white confederate privates. This was not the case in the Union army where blacks did not receive equal pay. At the Confederate Buffalo Forge in Rockbridge County, Virginia, skilled black workers “earned on average three times the wages of white Confederate soldiers and more than most Confederate army officers ($350-$600 a year).

Dr. Lewis Steiner, Chief Inspector of the United States Sanitary Commission while observing Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson’s occupation of Frederick, Maryland, in 1862: “Over 3,000 Negroes must be included in this number [Confederate troops]. These were clad in all kinds of uniforms, not only in cast-off or

captured United States uniforms, but in coats with Southern buttons, State buttons, etc.These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier than those worn by white men in the rebelranks. Most of the Negroes had arms, rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives, dirks, etc.,and were manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederate Army.

Frederick Douglas reported, “There are at the present moment many Colored men in the Confederate Army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but real soldiers, having musket on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down any loyal troops and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government and build up that of the rebels.”

Black and white militiamen returned heavy fire on Union troops at the Battle of Griswoldsville (near Macon, GA). Approximately 600 boys and elderly men were killed in this skirmish.

In 1864, President Jefferson Davis approved a plan that proposed the emancipation of slaves, in return for the official recognition of the Confederacy by Britain and France. France showed interest but Britain refused.

The Jackson Battalion included two companies of black soldiers. They saw combat at Petersburg under Col. Shipp. “My men acted with utmost promptness and goodwill…Allow me to state sir that they behaved in an extraordinary acceptable manner.”

Recently the National Park Service, with a recent discovery, recognized that blacks were asked to help defend the city of Petersburg, Virginia and were offered their freedom if they did so. Regardless of their official classification, black Americans performed support functions that in today’s army many would be classified as official military service. The successes of white Confederate troops in battle, could only have been achieved with the support these loyal black Southerners."

Confederate General John B. Gordon (Army of Northern Virginia) reported that all of his troops were in favor of Colored troops and that it’s adoption would have “greatly encouraged the army”. Gen. Lee was anxious to receive regiments of black soldiers. The Richmond Sentinel reported on 24 Mar 1864, “None…will deny that our servants are more worthy of respect than the motley hordes, which come against us.” “Bad faith [to black Confederates] must be avoided as an indelible dishonor.”

In March 1865, Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary Of State, promised freedom for blacks that served from the State of Virginia. Authority for this was finally received from the State of Virginia and on April 1st 1865, $100 bounties were offered to black soldiers. Benjamin exclaimed, “Let us say to every Negro who wants to go into the ranks, go and fight, and you are free…Fight for your masters and you shall have your freedom.” Confederate Officers were ordered to treat them humanely and protect them from “injustice and oppression”.

A quota was set for 300,000 black soldiers for the Confederate States Colored Troops. 83% of Richmond’s male slave population volunteered for duty. A special ball was held in Richmond to raise money for uniforms for these men. Before Richmond fell, black Confederates in gray uniforms drilled in the streets. Due to the war ending, it is believed only companies or squads of these troops ever saw any action. Many more black soldiers fought for the North, but that difference was simply a difference because the North instituted this progressive policy more soon than the more conservative South. Black soldiers from both sides received discrimination from whites that opposed the concept.

Union General U.S. Grant in Feb 1865, ordered the capture of “all the Negro men… before the enemy can put them in their ranks.” Frederick Douglas warned Lincoln that unless slaves were guaranteed freedom (those in Union controlled areas were still slaves) and land bounties, “they would take up arms for the rebels”.

On April 4, 1865 (Amelia County, VA), a Confederate supply train was exclusively manned and guarded by black Infantry. When attacked by Federal Cavalry, they stood their ground and fought off the charge, but on the second charge they were overwhelmed. These soldiers are believed to be from “Major Turner’s” Confederate command.

A Black Confederate, George _____, when captured by Federals was bribed to desert to the other side. He defiantly spoke, “Sir, you want me to desert, and I ain’t no deserter. Down South, deserters disgrace their families and I am never going to do that.”

Former slave, Horace King, accumulated great wealth as a contractor to the Confederate Navy. He was also an expert engineer and became known as the “Bridge builder of the Confederacy.” One of his bridges was burned in a Yankee raid. His home was pillaged by Union troops, as his wife pleaded for mercy.

As of Feb. 1865 1,150 black seamen served in the Confederate Navy. One of these was among the last Confederates to surrender, aboard the CSS Shenandoah, six months after the war ended. This surrender took place in England.

Nearly 180,000 Black Southerners, from Virginia alone, provided logistical support for the Confederate military. Many were highly skilled workers. These included a wide range of jobs: nurses, military engineers, teamsters, ordnance department workers, brakemen, firemen, harness makers, blacksmiths, wagonmakers, boatmen, mechanics, wheelwrights, etc. In the 1920’S Confederate pensions were finally allowed to those workers that were still living. Many thousands more served in other Confederate States.

During the early 1900’s, many members of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) advocated awarding former slaves rural acreage and a home. There was hope that justice could be given those slaves that were once promised “forty acres and a mule” but never received any. In the 1913 Confederate Veteran magazine published by the UCV, it was printed that this plan “If not Democratic, it is [the] Confederate” thing to do. There was much gratitude toward former slaves, which “thousands were loyal, to the last degree”, now living with total poverty of the big cities. Unfortunately, their proposal fell on deaf ears on Capitol Hill.

During the 5oth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1913, arrangements were made for a joint reunion of Union and Confederate veterans. The commission in charge of the event made sure they had enough accommodations for the black Union veterans, but were completely surprised when unexpected black Confederates arrived. The white Confederates immediately welcomed their old comrades, gave them one of their tents, and “saw to their every need”. Nearly every Confederate reunion including those blacks that served with them, wearing the grey.

The first military monument in the US Capitol that honors an African-American soldier is the Confederate monument at Arlington National cemetery. The monument was designed 1914 by Moses Ezekiel, a Jewish Confederate, who wanted to correctly portray the “racial makeup” in the Confederate Army. A black Confederate soldier is depicted marching in step with white Confederate soldiers. Also shown is one “white soldier giving his child to a black woman for protection”. – Source: Edward Smith, African American professor at the American University, Washington DC.

Black Confederate heritage is beginning to receive the attention it deserves. For instance, Terri Williams, a black journalist for the Suffolk “Virginia Pilot” newspaper, writes: “I’ve had to re-examine my feelings toward the [Confederate] flag…It started when I read a newspaper article about an elderly black man whose ancestor worked with the Confederate forces. The man spoke with pride about his family member’s contribution to the cause, was photographed with the [Confederate] flag draped over his lap…that’s why I now have no definite stand on just what the flag symbolizes, because it no longer is their history, or my history, but our history.”

_________________

This listing is partial, and does not include other lore and fact. For instance, the fact that the much maligned Lt. Gen. (retired) Nathan Bedford Forrest, while roundly condemned by present-day pontificators about things Confederate and Southern, was the principal donor to the establishment of the first Law School especially for the "coloured" in Tennessee. Forrest was also somewhat vilified by various members of Memphis and western Tennessee society as being what we would call to-day, a liberal do-gooder. These complaints did not deter the General from his activities in the area of social and cultural improvement for the Black Folks .

The OROGs may remember Forrest, also, from my accounts about his 42 member "Praetorian Guard" who were recruited from among Forrest's own slaves. They all volunteered and served through the duration, incredibly, without one fatal casualty. Such a record is probably not repeated among the ranks of Corp Level commands of light cavalry units.

Thursday, 21 September 2017

This is one of the very most important, unsung influences that guided El Gringo Viejo during his days as a pre-delinquent, preppie, and self-consumed pseudo-pianist.

We have placed this here because the mother of our daughter-in-law has a son who is succeeding in becoming an accomplished gentleman. He is accomplished and very civilised on many fronts, and will be the cause of scores of heartaches among the gentler sex. He is...like my son-in-law and son in many ways....very handsome.

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Thought you might like to read this letter to the editor of a British national newspaper. Ever notice how some people just seem to know how to write a letter?

Here is a woman who should run for Prime Minister!

The above introduction comes from a woman who has always backed the dull and boring notions expressed in the ancient Anglican Rites and the ancient expressions of Human Values as noted in the 1556 English Book of Common Prayer and the preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Declaration of Independence of the American Colonists en contra of the whims and notions of a popular and brilliant and really bad King of the British Empire, King George III. Had he left us alone, I and all of mine, save for my Spanish Queen and mother and grandmother of our pod, we would have been all speaking with a very British accent.

Written by a British housewife to her daily newspaper:

Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores in July 2002, and in New York Sept 11, 2001 and have continually threatened to do so since?

Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day in Washington , and in downtown Manhattan , and in a field in Pennsylvania ?

I DO NOT CARE!!!!!!

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

I DO NOT CARE!!!

And I'm supposed to care that a few Taliban were claiming to be tortured by a justice system of the nation they come from and are fighting against in a brutal insurgency.

GUESS WHAT? I DO NOT CARE!!!!

_________________________

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief of which is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques and behind women and children.!!!!!!

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of Nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll care when the British media stops pretending that their freedom of speech on stories is more important than the lives of the soldiers on the ground or their families waiting at home to hear about them when something happens. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the mean-time, when I hear a story about a British soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to obtain information, know this:

I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take this to the bank:

I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner - who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and 'fed special food' that is paid for by my taxes - is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts:

I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran..' Well, believe me!! you guessed it .............

I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behaviour!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. Our soldiers don't have that problem.'

I have another quote that I would like to add, AND........ I hope you forward all this.

Only six defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

1. Jesus Christ

2. The British Soldier.

3. The Canadian Soldier.

4. The US Soldier

5. The New Zealand Soldier, and

6. The Australian Soldier

One died for your soul, the other 5 for your freedom!!!

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET ABOUT ALL OF THEM.

AMEN!’

GIVE THIS LADY A STANDING OVATION.

Isn't it interesting that so many people in the Western World feel this way, but not one of our politicians, who are supposed to represent us, ever have the guts to state the situation like it is?

___________________________________________________

The British Lady forgets, and perhaps misunderstands the need, even in our ire, to recruit and welcome, those of the third group of the three Abrahamic Religions...such as the doctor who advised the Americans that Usama bin Laden was at such and such a place in Pakistan. He died because of this....as have many Moslems for similar "offences". Obama released the information that allowed him to be imprisoned and murdered.

This takes nothing away from what the British lady, and our friend at the ANGLICAN CURMUDGEON's site, because it is a 97 - 103 per cent reflection of my own sincerest beliefs and knowledge. The woman who forwarded this above-included transmission is a great-niece of William Barret Travis and no admirer of her uncle. She is a very serious Christian woman and thinker of clear and profound mind.

As a student and warrior....please understand...the time for "choice" has long passed. The radical Islamic terrorists will kill any Jew, Christian, and perhaps even more especially, the Moslem who cleaves upon the word of the ancient Faith. Remember that the "Moslem Apostle and Prophet" most mentioned in the Koran is a Jew carpenter from Nazareth who was also a physician and rabbi. The highest Saint in the Islamic orders among females is a woman named Mary who birthed out that most mentioned Saint, Jesus of Nazareth.

To my Moslem friends....you have a home...not here....but in your homeland.....and you have my respect. All who accept the Word, rendered and fulfilled by the prophets, should be accepted by the union of believers. Let us argue, laugh, cry, move to the next time when we can again argue, laugh, cry without having had our daughters mutilated, women massacred, and Jews / Christians treated as garbage.

AS DO THE CONSERVATIVE, TRADITIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS OF THE NOT DISTANT TIME WOULD SAY, UPON A SNEEZE, "GOD BLESS YOU"!! AND THE ANCIENT ROMAN CATHOLIC AND OTHER ORTHODOX WOULD SAY, "INTERVENGA JESUS!!!!" (intervene you, Jesus), YOUR humble servant retires to write a bit more about things ephemeral and physical. Thanks to Maxine, a sainted person, and to the rest of the now-considerable OROG community.

Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre

Click on the Gate to Enterour website which describes our fascinating, all adobe home and miniature nature preserve in rural Mexico. We are deep in the interior, nestledup against the massive Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. The visitor will find explanations, descriptions, menus, prices for stays of three nights or more. You will enjoy scenes that show a pleasantlyrustic, retro life-style that seems to cure many of the ills of our visitors. Our place is also a birdwatcher's dream come true. And, best of all, we have only one guest room, with its own private entrance and private bath. You will be the centre of attention!

___________________

OROG Number

What is an OROG?

Once a person lands on our page, that individual becomes a member of the Order of Readers of the Old Gringo, (OROG). There are no dues or assessments to pay, no meetings, no requirements. We are not associated with the KKK, the WCTU, Earth Liberation Federation, or the French Masons. We do have a distant connection with the Knights of the Golden Circle and hold the maps to the burial sites of 34 tonnes of Confederate Gold, and 1,000 tonnes of Mexican Imperial Silver coinage from the collapse of the Reign of Maximillian von Hapsburg, Emperor of Mexico, 1863 - 1867. All kidding aside, we are acerbic, but we do not bite. We do believe in our antiquated philosophy, but we try not to torture our prisoners excessively.

El Gringo Viejo

__________________________

Wise Words

"Communism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

_________________________________

"Be sure you are right, then go ahead"

"I bark at no man's bid. I will never come and go, fetch and carry, at the whistle of the Great Man in the White House, no matter who he is."

"I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done. But, if such was not to be, then you may all go to Hell, and I shall go to Texas!"David Hawkins Crockett________________________________

And on and on it goes. The more the Government gives away, the more it takes, and the less Americans do for themselves, until finally, like Europe, there is nobody left to do anything, and there is nobody left to pay for, the nothing that is not done.

And, yes, Virginia, there truly is a Santa Claus. So long as there is happiness, kindness, charity, generousity, and the Spirit of Fellowship, Santa Clause will be there, representing those noble things, and he will always move in a spiritual way to provoke humankind to goodness.El Gringo Viejo________________________________

“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”

Booker Tallaferro Washington

____________________________

It is impossible to make a poor man rich by making a rich man poor.

Abraham Lincoln

_________________________________

El Gringo Viejo: a fair description

Life for El Gringo Viejo began on the Texas-Mexico frontier, near McAllen, Texas literally on a real, live farm. The farmer, as one might imagine, was his father, who had moved with his parents from Gwinner, Sargent County, North Dakota in 1915 - 1916 period, down to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. (And yes, Virginia, that is the way Sargent County is spelled.)

His parents farmed in an area close to the new community named after its founder, called Ed Couch, in Hidalgo County of Texas. After studies, and a stint in the 1st Cavalry, 12th Regiment (mounted), Headquarters Squadron of the United States Army...riding horses back and forth along the Rio Grande from the late 1920s and early 1930s.

His Father established his farming and citrus grove-care operation just north of McAllen, Texas, and my Mother was a housewife and a professional woman....a learned, eloquent, well-read woman.

They were educated people, my father winding up as a Superintendent of a major school/facility of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in Austin, Texas after a twenty year career in education at the secondary level. He had degrees in History, Psychology, and Education Administration.

El Gringo Viejo is the last of three children, all males. Number one was Milton, who was born in 1936 and died in a vehicular incident in 1988. He was narcoleptic. He held a doctorate in geography from Louisiana State University and was head of the Department there for a good while.

Number two is Norman who was born during the WWII situation in 1942 and became an important Republican political engineer and fundraiser.

My arrival was in 1947, and I was destined to confound my parents and all those around me. Educated entirely in public schools in McAllen, skipping the third grade, and stumbling out of my high school in the upper 90% of a class of 606.

Attended and graduated from Southwest Texas State University (now named Texas State University, unfortunately), being one of the few conservatives to graduate out of the School of Sociology, although my treatment at the hands of my tormentor-professors was not so unpleasant in those days. Emphasis of studies were social demography, and Latin American Affairs with a concentration on Mexico's history and current political evolution, with a minors in History, Geography, and Political Science.

El Gringo Viejo is one of the old, unreconstructed high-church Episcopalians. Politically, he is very fundamentally conservative. He prefers Baseball to football, and considers that baseball with a designated hitter for the pitcher should be called "poofy-ball". Favourite major league team of all times? The Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s. It will never be the same again. El Gringo Viejo's father was born to a Hudson Valley-type girl and a man who had lost two older brothers who served in the Pennsylvania 96th Regiment of Volunteer Infantry during the War Between the States.

The surnamed line (Newton) originated from East Anglia, not far from a place called Washington in northeastern England. They came into Boston Harbour, Massachusetts in 1642 (the 1st voyage of the Mayflower had overbooked), and settled there and in Maine as well as spreading out to Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania, over the generations for the first 220 years. The Hudson Valley people were principally Celto-Teutonics types from Saxony and Prussia, establishing and settling along the Hudson River from around what is Catskill County northward to Duchess and Rennselaer Counties around a place named Red Hook. The main group came in during the early 1650s. My mother's people were another English line of long-term Southern and Tennessee people, from the Eastern part of that State, who originally came in during the 1660s through Virginia and North Carolina, and finally into Eastern Tennessee, settling in and around a county to be named Franklin, and helping to establish the city of Winchester. Almost all of these people originated from southwestern England, near the frontier with Wales.

Only recently did we verify that she had many people involved in the service of the Confederacy. One died in northern Mississippi, another was severely wounded and succumbed finally in 1869, and another hung around in an Ohio POW camp (Camp Chase) for about 13 months, while three others were either wounded or died in action. Another five made it through relatively unscathed.

Almost all were, oddly enough, related to the great-grand uncles and gggg-grandfathers down to gg-grandfathers of Rush Limbaugh. The gggg-grandfather came into the Colonies in the early 1740s from a Prussia and Saxony background, and served in both civilian and military capacities to the Continental government and Army. He was the XO of a Militia Battalion of 3,000 Pennsylvania effectives.

A grandson of his settled in Tennessee after the War for Independence against King George III. So Rush and I share grandfathers, four generations deep on the American Continent.

It should be stated here that were I to be called to declare, my allegiance would still be with the Southern Cause, although I bear no rancor against those who feel the same about their instinct to maintain a Union that, oddly enough, would have remained closer if we had separated, and each gone the ways of their own yearning. The last of the English (El Gringo Viejo's) line came during the time between the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. They left County Wicklow, where they had been involved, apparently, in that peculiar Anglo - Scots/Irish practice of making whiskey by the use of peat for fuel. They were also involved in the business of production and processing of various types of grains as well as the production of whiskey, gin, and beer. By their surnames one would know that, while coming out of Ireland, they were actually English, one with the surname of Christian and the wife, Webster. They had, in fact, married in Christ's Church Cathedral, Anglican, in downtown Dublin in 1796. They landed in New York, set up shop in the City among previously arrived relatives, and then in Albany. They wound up in the 2nd generation in and around Minneapolis (St. Anthony) Minnesota, and Racine, Wisconsin. My particular line went from New York to Alabama, then North Carolina, and then Wisconsin to join up with the rest of the extended family, finally in Minnesota, before the War Between the States. The Time Line of entry of all lines of my children's blood ancestry on their mother's side in the New World begins in 1568, when Spaniards of mixed Hebraic and Iberian peoples, and others of ancestry from Portugal, Galicia, and southern Spain enter into what was to become Monclova and Saltillo, Coahuila. They are brought under the auspices of the Explorer, Conquistador, and Colonizer Jose Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, with elements settling in Lampazos, in Palofox (Texas), Cerralvo, and Revilla on the Rio Bravo. Also, the Count of the Sierra Gorda, Col. Jose de Escandon brought another group of Spanish, Portuguese, and Azoreans in the early 175os, settling along the Rio Bravo (Grande), and then on the north (Texas) side, spreading up to what is now Yorktown, Texas (near San Antonio de Bexar, more or less) before and during the Texas Republican period. My children and theirs are qualified to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Liberty, The Sons of the Grand Army of the Union, The Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Daughters of the Confederacy.LIKE?

Cats, and then dogs.

Fishing, even a bit of bird watching, now and then.

Really good music..antique, old, 1950s and early 1960s rock and roll, classical - Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, both Strauses, and many others, African tribal sounds, Mexican bolero...mariachis when they play out-of-doors, some country and quite a bit of the old western (Sons of the Pioneers, the Texas Ploughboys, Marty Robbins "Gunfighter Ballads, for instance.), even some of my own piano works, bagpipes, Enya, marimba, Caribe.

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess always seemed to me to have been, and remains, a true masterpiece of Americana.

Firearms, smooth running small equipment, old autos that respond to repair and upkeep and keep going. Used to have BMWs and so forth, but being old helps tone things down a bit.

Antiques, and antiquities...Meso-American archeology...and religious history. Formal religious services among the Orthodox..as in Anglican, Roman, Orthodox and Conservative Jewish services and celebrations. Hard to find, now.

Overnight radio, rightwing talk radio until it becomes overly tedious and repetitive.

Weather and climate.

And strangely during the past few years, cooking...not just barbequeing...but actually dishing up gourmet-type stuff....and gardening to a purpose.

We grow a lot of our own spices for our little bed and breakfast and we specialise in flowerng plants, bushes, and trees that attract bees and literally hundreds of species of common to extremely rare birds to our place.

Lifelong Republican, honourably discharged - United States Army (conscripted).

Now drifted into the position of favouring the amicable withdrawal of Texas from the American Union. My grandchildren are 15th generation Coahuila/Texas by my wife and 8th generation Texas by me and my will is to have them answer for the debt of Texas and not for the debts incurred by the National Socialists who have taken possession of the central government in Washington, D.C.DISLIKES? Any kind of socialism...bolshevik, national, marxist, social democratic, Trotskyite, progressive, ....and any kind of socialist.

The Ku Klux Klan and such types who figure that they have to hate somebody because of how he was born. They are just role players, resucitated by the Communist Party USA in the 1920s, whose members are fueled by a well deserved sense of inferiority.

And almost all social activism.

Almost all labour union officers and almost all labour unions.

Public assistance of any kind. All welfare and/or charity should and must be privately handled in order to avoid the trap wherein we have fallen, that being the multigenerational slide into the abyss of forlorn hopelessness that is government slavery and dependence. That slide is cheerfully supported by politicians who love to buy votes with other peoples' money.

Lotteries operated by governments.

Litter, filth, graffiti, gangs, and waiting in line for people using food stamps whil'st they argue with the cashier about how they "need" this or that to be covered...when they have three carts with 450 USD of snacks and things we cannot afford because we are in an 'upper income" category.

Church reformers who want to change my church instead of them going to another church and just leaving me alone.

Medications for boys who are over-active, and medications in general.

Lite beer, lite Coca Cola, fat-free, lo-cal, artificial sugars and sweeteners, anything marked "healthy" on food packages, sugar-free, margarine, and driving 23 miles to buy gasoline over there because it is 2 cents per gallon cheaper.

Any government programme designed to help anybody; 94% of the time the programme winds up morphing into some kind of monster. Then liberals and do-gooders will propose another programme, twice a costly, to cure the ills caused by the first cure-all.

Officiousness, and the term "non-profit", as if there is some kind of moral superiority in the failure to produce wealth.

Physical abuse of an animal, an extraterrestrial, a child, slave, woman, or anything like a tractor or power tool, firearm, sewing machine, or an auto, etc. Loud and/or sharp noises, especially when such noises have no particular purpose.

Wasting anything, from paper towels to Clorox to cake and cookie batter...anything. And....waiting in a line.